Darim is pleased to offer a webinar and webinar/consulting combo to help you tune up your Facebook Page for maximum impact this season.   REGISTER HERE or use the form below.

WEBINAR:  Friday, August 12th  1-2pm Eastern
In this one-hour webinar, we’ll walk you through how to use Facebook to engage constituents during this important time of year when you have more of their attention, including marketing your page, when to post, what types of updates are most successful, how to develop a content strategy for the holiday season, how to be personal with Facebook, and more. The webinar recording will be available to all who register to replay or revisit at your convenience.

CONSULTING PACKAGE:
To provide more support and customized attention, we’re offering one-on-one coaching for up to 8 congregations who want to review their current Facebook activities and strategy in more detail with a Darim consultant. Along with this one hour coaching sessions, you’ll receive a self-evaluation form that will help us identify your organization’s Facebook goals and current challenges using Facebook and a written follow up including tips and suggestions to help propel you forward.  Price includes the webinar for up to 5 representatives from your congregation.

Webinar:  Only $20
Webinar + coaching and support:  $150  (only 8 seats available!)

REGISTER FOR EITHER PACKAGE HERE. Or see the form below.

A great kick in the tush to get your Facebook house in order for the busy season!  What are you waiting for?  Sign up for the webinar, or the full package with coaching and customized support!

Our Presenter: Debra Askanase is founder of the social media strategy firm communityorganizer20.com. Debra blogs there about social media, nonprofits and community organizing. A frequent conference speaker, Debra can be found chatting away as @askdebra. Debra has worked with nonprofits for 20 years as organizer, program director, executive director and fundraiser.  Debra has worked with many Jewish organizations, synagogues, day schools and other organizations in the US, Canada and Israel.

Gloria works for a large and respected nonprofit organization.  She tweets occasionally for the organization, but also has a personal account.  One day, in an innocent slip of the fingers, she tweets about drinking at a party from her work account instead of her personal one.  Not registering the error, she finishes her day as usual.  June’s colleague suddenly starts fielding messages from the organization’s constituents about the, ahem, unexpected tweet.  How should he react?

Or perhaps this little story will capture your fancy:

Tom recently Googled his organization and found that there were several blogs discussing a project his team was implementing.  He was pleasantly surprised to find such an enthusiastic group advocating on behalf of his organization, but the blog was hosting by an organization with explicit political leanings, and Tom’s organization is specifically non-partisan.   Should Tom take advantage of building the organization’s network and strengthening relationships with individuals who could contribute a lot to their work, or should he steer clear of anything that could be interpreted as political?  How should Tom respond?

Both June’s colleague and Tom could really use somewhere to turn for guidance.

The way many organizations are facing these and other questions is by developing a social media policy (we recently blogged about the excellent policy developed by the Avi Chai Foundation here: “Avi Chai Foundation Gets Social”).  A social media policy is essentially a document that helps define how different groups associated with an organization should conduct themselves online.  It is a valuable and powerful tool.  A social media policy helps outline both expectations and possibilities for social media interactions.  It acts as a go-to document for any questions or conflicts that may arise.  A social media policy can provide a sense of security, knowing your team is approaching social media from the same set of assumptions.  It can also, somewhat counter-intuitively, foster a sense of freedom in the use of social media – you can jump into the game with more confidence when you know the rules.

Perhaps even more valuable than the document itself is the process of developing a social media policy.  It encourages a big conversation, an honest discussion of the values and character of your organization and how they should be reflected online.  As Beth Kanter explains on her blog, “…if you want the policy to truly work, you need a process, especially if your organization is still grappling with fears and concerns.”  The process can present an amazing opportunity for listening, sharing, and reflection among the people who make your good work possible.

Darim is here to help you have this conversation and implement your own social media policy.  That way, Gloria’s accidental tweet (a true story which you can find out more about here) and Tom’s political blog posts won’t seem so daunting – with the right approach, they can become opportunities for learning and increased connection with the people who care most about what you do.

To dig deeper into this topic and start the conversation, Darim is offering a webinar on social media policies (and because it’s our tenth anniversary, you’re welcome to join us for free).  Here is all the information:

Social Media Staffing and Policies

Tuesday, May 17, 1-2pm

Register here: http://bit.ly/lZTGph

And we want to hear from you!  Does your organization have a social media policy?  If so, what did you learn, or how did you grow through the process of creating your guidelines or policy?

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a webinar hosted by Darim Online on the strategic use of Facebook (FB) for non-profits. We were invited by Caren Levine, who is a part of our Kehilliyot Community of Practice. Darim Online specializes in internet strategies for Jewish organizations and their communities, and the webinar was part of the organization’s “Social Media Boot Camp.” The host, technology maven Avi Kaplan (on twitter @meshugavi), provided valuable insights into using FB’s tools. Besides laying out the great strategic use of FB groups, analytics, pages, and friend lists, Avi also talked about using FB for “causes,” something he knows a lot about from his deep work with the 3-year old nonprofit, Epic Change.

Intrigued by Epic Change’s mission to “amplify the voices and impact of grassroots change-makers and social entrepreneurs,” we set up a web meeting with him the following week via WebEx . What we discovered was the organization’s innovative use of technology and social media to create and spread change through the powerful combination of social media tools and age-old storytelling.

Epic Change has been focusing on a project in Arusha, Tanzania—the support of the Shepherds Junior School. Co-founders of Epic Change, Sanjay Patel and Stacey Monk, an IT project manager and a management consultant respectively, created the nonprofit organization after a life-changing trip volunteering in Africa in 2007. The project supports the work of the school’s founder, Mama Lucy Kamptoni, who they describe as a “savvy and passionate local woman.” Epic Change made initial loans to the school and then helped them find creative ways to pay back the loan, such as a school performance and selling hand-made crafts.

In addition, the organization has facilitated finding partners to raise money for the school, such as the May 2009 $10,000 grant from Ideablob, which funded the school’s first technology lab. In October 2009, the fifth graders became the first #TwitterKids of Tanzania when they partnered with LacProject, part of a social media curriculum. The story of one of the local students whose life has been impacted can be found here. One particularly successful partnership was with Silicon Valley Tweet Up, where they raised over $2,000. You can read more about their success in getting this community’s story out there through blogging themselves, forming partnerships, and empowering the locals with the technology to give voice to their own perspective (and “tweet” their thanks) by visiting Epic Change’s news page.

We at Knowledge Communities were honored to talk with Epic Change and learn about their extraordinary work. This organization is a leading example in building community around an important cause and using the tools of storytelling and social media to raise funds to support grassroots change-makers that are in need of resources in order to continue their work.  We are also thankful to our Kehilliyot Community of Practice and the sharing and generosity that members show towards one another, thereby allowing us all to gain more insight into good work and how it is getting done around the globe.

Don’t miss out! Interested in becoming a member of our growing Learning Network? Learn more about Darim here, then  c’mon down and step this way to sign up … Memberships are available for individuals and for organizations.  Questions? Comments? Ideas?  Contact us!

Develop a media library for your congregation. This library should include video, photos, and audio. It is important to organize and annotate materials so that they can be reused and repurposed into many different pieces.

• Determine what to collect for your media library. As previously suggested, review your program calendar with an eye toward collecting material. Document interesting and important things your institution does; capture what it means to be a member of your community. Collect video, photos, and audio.
• Ask videographers for the raw footage as well as the edited product. When you hire a vendor, stipulate in the contract that your organizaiton owns the footage.
• Invest time in watching video footage and logging what is on the tapes. This is a good project for a volunteer or intern.
• Be aware of privacy issues and implement policies. Ask people for their permission to be included in any video or photographs. Institutions are increasingly including photography/video releases into their membership forms. Allow people to opt out/ opt in. Parents need to provide permission for the filming of children. Be sure to have your legal ducks in a row.

For additional resources, see See3’s Guide to Online Video, especially this segment on “Building a Media Library:”

3. Building A Media Library from See3 Communications on Vimeo.

A huge thank you to Michael Hoffman and to the synagogues who participated in these webinars!

Does your synagogue have a media library? What are other tips and techniques do you have to share?

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Think of your organization’s online presence as your “channel.” As such, consider how to integrate online video into your overall organizational strategy. Online video can be an effective means to strengthen connections among your community’s members. Remember, people relate best to other people, less so to institutions. As you think about this, determine where your community members – and potential members – “reside” online and meet them there.

• Be strategic when program planning. Think in terms of telling your community’s story and use your organization’s program calendar as a guide. Determine: what do we need to capture? What do we need have professionally filmed and what can be documented by staff and or volunteers? What types of footage would be good for recruitment, for community building, for fundraising?
• Go deep rather than wide. Effective marketing involves repetition, creating conversation, portraying real human relationships, and providing real engagement.
• Meet the parents. And congregants. And staff. And lay leadership. Ask community members who they are, what they do, and why they care about the community – on video. This is a terrific way of creating transparency with the community at large, by showing them “who are the people in your neighborhood.” These types of videos also foster people-people connections which in turn create connections to your institution.
• Map your community online. Focus on places your community and potential community live online – social networks, Facebook, discussion lists, etc. Conduct a survey to see what online spaces your people inhabit. This is a great marketing exercise in general!
• Capitalize on influencers and supporters. Tap into the people who are already your constituents and empower them to share videos and other resources with their friends; be “viral” to the right audiences.
• Grab attention outside of your current membership. Reach out to potential members by alerting them to special activities in which your community is engaged. For example, a program on Judaism and the environment could be marketed to groups outside of your immediate membership… bring your community to them.
• Push and pull. For example, send out an email to your congregation’s discussion list that includes a note from the Rabbi with a link to a video clip on your website. Highlight special clips in your newsletter. Share “how to videos” on Jewish life on your website – and ask members for recommendations for additional resources.
• Reach your peeps. Use Groundswell’s social profile technology profile tool to help determine how to prioritize efforts. Who and where is your target audience and what kinds of relationships do you want to build with them?
• And… “Action.” Provide video training sessions for staff and volunteers. Invest in a good video camera with an external microphone. People are more likely to watch bad quality video with good sound, than good quality video with bad sound. A low-cost video camera, like the Flip, is good to have handy. It does not, however, take the place of a better quality camera. In general, the Flip does well at close range, with someone speaking directly to the camera in a quiet place, but it is not great for covering large events.

What are some of your strategies? Do you have a few tips to share? What is your favorite use of online video to promote your community? Post your ideas and links in the comments below!

Take a look at See3’s Guide to Online Video for more tips and techniques.

Additional Resources:

Educause: 7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders

Synagogue Examples:

Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Torah Dedication, Baltimore, Maryland
Chizuk Amuno Congregation – Rosenbloom Religious School, Baltimore, Maryland (see YouTube links)
Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, New York
North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois (see link to Building for the Generations campaign video on home page)
Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua, New York (capital campaign video)

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Coming up… Developing a Media Library

We had the pleasure of hosting Michael Hoffman, CEO, of See3 Communications for a series of excitng webinars with the Darim Online Learning Network for Synagogues. Nearly 40 participants from 28 organizations participated in “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video.”

What We’ve Been Hearing
Synagogues are expressing an increased interest in using online videos in various aspects of their work, including fundraising, community building, documenting community moments, and project-based learning. Some of our organizations are just beginning to explore the potential of video, others are in the midst of experimenting, while several congregations are already actively integrating video into their community’s strategic plans.

• There is a growing awareness of the power of the medium to communicate community values and events.
• Video can be used to tell a synagogue’s story in a powerful, visual style.
• Synagogues are interested in employing multiple media to connect with members and potential members.

What We’ve Been Learning
Congregations are looking at more comprehensive strategies for communicating and fostering community online. There are many reasons for including online video in your organization’s work and strategic plan. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Video is portable – it’s online, downloadable, shareable; members can help market your community by sharing with their other social networks.
• It can help broaden a community’s reach and audience.
• Video delivers your community’s message and helps build relationships.
• Video captures significant moments in your community’s history.
• Online video makes your community accessible by bringing community to members who can access activities, events, and services that they might not otherwise be able to attend
• Video can be used to augment synagogue websites and blogs
• Video can highlight targeted campaigns
• Learners – students, youth groups, adults – can develop video projects to showcase their work

Be sure to check out See3’s Guide to Online Video for more tips and techniques.

Additional resources:

Beth Kanter’s Blog post: A Look at Nonprofits and Vlogging
Mashable’s 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources
Video in the Classroom: Digital Storytelling

Examples of Video Hosting Sites:

BlipTV hosting service for online video
TeacherTube video hosting service for teachers and students
UStreamTV hosting service for livestreaming
Vimeo hosting service
YouTube
YouTube: Nonprofit Program

Darim Online Resources: How Do I Add Video to My Site? for Darim Online members

Archives of the recent webinars, “The Age of YouTube: An Introduction to Online Video for Congregations,” as well as previous webinars are available to members of the Darim Online Learning Network. Access to the archives and other webinar-related material can be found on the Darim Online website in Dirah, under “Learning Network Info.”

Not yet a member of the Darim Online Learning Network? Click here for membership information for your organization and to register.

Coming up… Community Strategies for Integrating Online Video